In 2010, Ms. Valentine began advocating for medical cannabis, speaking at professional conferences and other events. Four years later, she transformed her passion into a success story for others by creating Synchronicity Holistic.

Synchronicity initially offered medical grade and adult use products. Now, it has the distinction of the only CA cannabis dispensary with a pharmacist and nurses. Synchronicity Holistic, is a state of the art cannabis wellness center and will speak to us on the potential of cannabis use.

We are honored to have Mr. Steve John, the Chief Executive Officer of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Tournament Director for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, as our June luncheon speaker.

Steve is the past President of Ocean Honda in Soquel, CA. A graduate of Albion College in Michigan, Mr. John is active in the community having served on the boards for Santa Cruz county Bank, Cabrillo College Foundation, O’Neill Sea Odyssey, and First Capital Bank.

Ron Read, with his deep experience and involvement with the game of golf will be our speaker on May 12th. Ron joined the USGA in 1982 and served in many positions for 32 years. He was a starter for US Open Championships from 1986 to 2010. He also was a key contributor to the creation of the USGA GHIN computerized handicap system.

Based on Ron's experiences as starter for our national golf championship, he wrote a very popular book, STARTING THE U.S. OPEN -- From Shinnecock HIlls to Pebble Beach. It takes the reader inside the ropes of the US Open Championship. Ron is a well-informed and dynamic speaker who will share some fascinating stories with our group.

Nick was born in Sussex England and began playing golf at 12 years old. Immediately after leaving High School, Nick turned pro at 16 years and became the youngest, fully qualified member of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland at the age of 18.

He visited the USA for the first time in the winter of 1979 to prepare for playing tournament golf. Six years later he turned his attention to the business side of golf and started a golf club manufacturing company in southern California. In 1994 Nick founded his own youth and adult golf academy at Bayonet and Black Horse GC. It was at Bayonet and Black Horse that John Zoller and Ollie Nutt approached him to help establish The First Tee Monterey County.

Nick is the CEO of First Tee Monterey County, and he has seen it grow into the largest youth development organization in the County. The organization serves over 10,000 young people a year and has reached over 100,000 children since its inception. First Tee enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum. It also operates the Taylor Farms Center For Learning: providing academic programs, educational support and continued life skills training; and Pay It Forward Scholarship and Mentoring Program: supporting and holding first generation college students accountable for success.

Nick is married to Elissa, and they have two children; Pierce, 19, and Kensington, 18. Pierce is a United States Marine, and Kensington hopes to attend college on an equestrian team in 2022.

THE BUSINESS OF TOMORROW

The Visionary Life of Harry Guggenheim

"Smillie, a former senior reporter for Forbes who also served as chief content officer at Guggenheim Partners, offers a lively portrait of entrepreneur and philanthropist Harry Guggenheim—a man of impressive achievements and staggering wealth…A brisk, well-researched biography."

Dirk Smillie is a former Senior Writer at Forbes magazine, where he wrote about family business dynasties and was on the Forbes 400 team (Forbes' annual rich list). For six years he was Chief Content Officer at Guggenheim Partners, a $300 billion financial services firm. Beside The Business of Tomorrow, he is author of Falwell, Inc. (St. Martin's). The book is the basis for two episodes in a series being developed for Netflix on the impact of evangelicals on American culture. He was a Coro Fellow in public policy and co-authored numerous studies of the press and the presidency at the Media Studies Center, Columbia University. He lives in New York City and has a daughter who is a freshman at Colorado College.

The format at our Spanish Bay event Feb. 1st was unusual. The foursomes were formed according to handicap levels, the lowest handicappers grouped in Team #1 on down to the highest handicaps in Team #6. We played the two best balls, except on any one hole on each nine, one best ball. We were curious to see if the handicap system worked in practice. Team #4 was first, #1 second, #2 third, #3 and #5 tied for fourth and fifth, and #6 was last. You tell me how the handicaps worked? The outlier #4 team was best but only by one stroke. #1 was in the money and #2 was also right there a gnat’s ass from the prizes. The others were middle of the pack where they were handicapped while #6 was indeed last. Go figure.

Below are the gruesome mug shots of the gang that claimed first prize:

Matthew Myers, Rick Thau, Jim Giancola and Grant Carmichael

The second place yokels are still squawking over the scoring and “woulda coulda”:

Michael Georgariou, Brad Gebert, Greg Northcraft, and Bill Yakobovich

FUTURE EVENTS FOR YOUR CALENDARS (no sign-ups yet):

Crazy Horse Ranch—Tuesday March 15th

Tehema—Tuesday April 12th

Next week on Feb. 15th at Pacific Grove, sign-ups and payments are complete. I have two standbys on waitlist so any cancels or dropouts would be refunded.

Our speakers will be Susan Stilwell (Founder and Chairman) and Lori Butterworth (CEO) of AIM Youth Mental Health.  They will specifically address how AIM is answering the recent call from the Surgeon General for our nation to protect the mental health of its youth.

AIM is finding and funding the most promising youth mental health research in the world. In support of that we are building a movement devoted to the mental health of children, teens, and young adults. 

Our water infrastructure, regulations and conservation efforts

Chris Cook came to California American Water in 2015 as Assistant Engineering Manager and was promoted to Engineering Manager the following year. Since 2018, Chris has served in his current roles as Director of Operations, guiding the Central Division’s operations, $30 million operating budget, union relations and safety culture. Chris also continues to work with engineering on the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.

Before joining California American Water, Chris held engineering positions as an R&D engineer and engineering consultant. He also served a two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa.

Chris went to All Saints in Carmel Valley and then Stevenson High School in Pebble Beach. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from The University of California, San Diego and a Masters of Business Administration from Santa Clara University.

Chris brings a hometown pride, collaborative management style and an engaging enthusiasm to his work, as well as more than 15 years of experience in engineering, project and workforce management.

Our December speaker will be Major General William M. Matz, Jr., US Army (Ret.), the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.  ABMC administers, operates and maintains 26 permanent American military cemeteries and 32 federal memorials, monuments and markers, most of which commemorate the service and sacrifice of Americans who served in World War I and World War II.  They are among the most beautiful and meticulously maintained shrines in the world. 

Katrina Maestri spent 15 years in an international corporate career with General Motors and has a wide range of Marketing, Strategy, and New Business Development experience. While at GM, she specialized in working with start-up operations, including entering new geographic markets as well as launching new technology ventures. Since leaving the corporate world, Katrina has enjoyed applying her experience to non-profits in both the U.S. and abroad. Katrina and her family moved to the U.S. in 2010 so that her daughter could receive the specialized support she needs to thrive with her dyslexia. Katrina is passionate about fostering educational opportunities for students with learning differences and raising awareness regarding the high potential of this creative, dynamic population. She has served on the Chartwell Board since 2014 and is currently the President.